Author: Richard Newby

“You want justice because you haven’t figured out there is no such thing yet.” Overview: Not long after Marine veteran Frank Castle believes he has hunted down those responsible for the death of his family, he finds himself caught in a government conspiracy with secrets that threaten to unravel American security, our policies on violence, and Frank’s very sense of self. 2017; Netflix; TV-MA; 13 episodes. Welcome Back, Frank: There’s no way that the Punisher, a character entrenched in gun violence, Reaganism, and ice-cold rage, could successfully tackle the systemic mishandling of justice, and the resulting violence from the...

Overview: The death of Superman has left the world open to attack from an alien god looking to reshape the world in his image. To stop the invasion, Batman and Wonder Woman assemble a team of reluctant heroes who must rediscover hope within themselves and each other in order to save the world. 2017; Warner Bros; Rated PG-13; 120 minutes. One Year Later: The world doesn’t look like it did before. In terms of the space in which these fictional characters live and our real world, things have changed. There’s a psychological need for a bit more optimism, a...

Here’s the first trailer for the John Krasinski directed horrror film, A Quiet Place. There’s a real challenge to the art of horror movies that can effetively use sound to generate the majority of their scares and tension. If this trailer is any indication, A Quiet Place is up to the challenge, and is going to provide quite the sensory ride. The decision to hide the supernatural element is a good marketing move, and certainly adds an desired element of mystery. I have a feeling that this could end up being the kind of movie so many of us...

Here’s the first teaser for the sequel a decade in the making, The Strangers: Prey at Night! Johannes Roberts’ takes over from the prior entry’s director, Bryan Bertino, and looks to expand the Strangers reign of terror to open spaces. Bertino, who co-write the script, has been discussing sequel plans since the original’s release nearly 10 years ago, and while this sequel looks like a departure from some of the quiet eeriness and clausterphobia of the first one, it certainly has the potential to be equally effective, especially given Roberts’ talent for creating clever jump scares. We’re definitely keeping...

“In your children you shall make up for being the children of your fathers: thus shall you redeem all that is past.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra In the beginning there was Superman. From him spawned an entirely new generation of heroes, and an entirely new generation of readers and consumers who took those superheroes and made them gods. Their stories made myths to monitor the pulse of an ever-changing world. The Justice League has remained at the forefront of our conversation on the changing ideals of heroism since their first appearance in 1960. From the team’s introduction...

With the release of Justice League this week, we’re getting pretty excited for the next stage of the DCEU and the potential for this universe to further expand. Justice League Dark, formally Dark Universe, was announced as “in-development” at 2017’s WB San Diego Comic Con panel. The film has been on WB’s radar since 2012, with Guillermo del Toro at the helm before leaving the project in 2015. He was followed by Doug Liman who was briefly attached before departing earlier this year. Currently, Justice League Dark has several versions of a script but no director. We’d love to see...

The ‘merc with the mouth’ is back in the lastest teaser for Deadpool 2, which briefly offers our first look at actual footage from the film! There’s not much to be said about this, given how little footage from the movie is actually in the teaser, but the marketing team has it down to a science, which attributed to a large portion of the first movie’s success. From what we can see, Deadpool 2 is definitely cruising with a bigger budget and a slicker style, not doubt thanks to the film’s director David Leitch, who took over from Tim...

Here’s the first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s highly-anticipated awards contender, The Post. If Spotlight was any indication, awards voters love films about the press, and The Post could not be coming out at a more insturmental time. In our age of “fake news” and cover-ups coming straight from the White House, we could surely use more of Hanks and Streep’s earnest ability to convey honesty, and Spielberg’s human interest when it comes to the portryal of news media. We’re fully expecting this to be one of the most discussed films of the winter, and we couldn’t doubt Spielberg even...

After months of waiting for a release date, we finally know when he’s coming, and that when he arrives, he’s coming for blood. The Punisher is arguably the most anticipated Marvel Netflix show since the first season of Daredevil, which is interesting because a Punisher show wasn’t originally part of Marvel’s Netflix plan. After emerging as the breakout character in Daredevil Season 2, Netflix decided to break the mold of their Defenders centric shows and offer up a sixth series, an outsider who fits in even less with the world of superheroes than our urban Defenders do. While The...

Originally published on March 31, 2017. Throughout the month of March, Audiences Everywhere will be sharing appreciation for film trilogies, including personal reflections from our writers on some of their favorites. Today, we’re discussing the thematic link between three of John Carpenter’s masterworks. There’s a great big hole in the world. At its center resides the agent of our undoing. So we bury it. We build foundations over it, foundations built on the unknowable things we think we know. And while that agent of undoing may be covered, that hole is not filled. Relationships, religion, and entertainment form a...

Originally published on February 8, 2017. John Wick 2 is now available on HBO GO’s streaming service. Overview: When a former ally forces John Wick to make good on an old debt, he finds himself caught in a whirlwind of repercussions with a bounty on his head. Summit Entertainment; 2017; Rated R; 122 minutes. Working Again: Before we even get to the opening credits and title card for John Wick: Chapter 2, the film quickly dispenses with the plot that any standard action sequel would go for by wrapping up the threads from John Wick. Reclaiming the car that...

Overview: 12-year old Cole’s night takes a turn when he discovers his beloved babysitter is part of a Satanic cult who need his blood for a ritual sacrifice. Netflix; Rated TV-MA; 85 minutes. She Knows You’re Alone: The babysitter has become a horror genre staple over the decades. From When a Stranger Calls to the more recent Emelie, horror has a frequent fascination with young women tasked with protecting innocence. Whether the film pits the babysitter against a force of evil, or turns the expectations around and makes the babysitter herself the evil force, there are few tropes left...

Here’s the latest trailer for Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther! And here’s the new poster: Yo! So first off, this is looking to be a lot more visually imaginative than even the teaser suggested. The artists involved in this have really put in the work to give the technology of Wakanda its own flair. Additionally, the costume design and detail may be some of the very best Marvel Studios has put forth. While the story details are still tightly underwraps, we do get a much closer look at Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Kilmonger, who looks to T’Challa a run...

Originally published on August 14, 2016. When we think about David Cronenberg’s The Fly we think about the grotesque transformation of Seth Brundle that drives the film and weakens our stomachs. 30 years later and the artistry of Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis on Seth Brundle’s six staged transformation into Brundlefly remain an unmatched feat in practical effects, paralleled only by Rob Bottin’s work on The Thing four years prior. Despite the effects wizardry that keeps audiences returning to Cronenberg’s film over and over again, The Fly’s memorable body horror and exploration of the flesh would be lessened if...

Star Wars! And here’s the new poster! So this looks amazing! I don’t want to speculate too much, but it definitely looks like Rian Johnson is mixing up the traditional Star Wars story elements beyond the dark side and the light. Of course the major discussion around this film is what Luke Skywalker’s role will be. And while we can’t tell from the trailer what side of the force he’ll land on (though we do know what fear leads to), it’s clear that Mark Hamill has brought his A-game. Other key moments are a glimpse of Snoke in the...